Jake Crawford

Dr. Henderson King

The Role of the Media in the Lead Up to the Iraq War

Fifty years from now if one were to open an old history textbook; one could read about how a
country that in the wake of tragedy, persuaded its populace that another group of people who were of
no threat to them, were actually a dire threat to their existence. One would read about the use and
abuse of mass media through the means of propaganda and fear. They would find ostracism rampant
and naysayers being deemed unpatriotic. Making an educated guess, one assumes they are reading
about life in pre-war Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, one learns they were reading about pre-war
America.
In the lead up to the Iraq war, the general culture in the media centered around not questioning
the Bush administrations actions. This culture of complacence proved to be harmful to the American
populace. America was plunged into an incredibly expensive and costly war, with no legitimate or legal
reason. Rowe explained that the middle-management of the press had shifted from being run primarily
by independent editors to being run by conservative businessmen. This progression was due to how the
media evolved as a business. According to the media organizations as institutions approach, media
companies are run just like any other corporation. Theres a hierarchical structure with clearly specified
goals, a product, and the bulk of the revenue comes from outside sources. Upper management is
concerned about making money, not honest journalism. To do this, they must have people that are
friendly to their outside source of revenue, advertisers. Unable to replace every journalist, the editors
were replaced. This shift in middle-management promoted a culture that revolved around getting the
most views for their product, thus generating the most revenue. One very convenient way of doing this

was by echoing the drum beats of war that the white house was creating. People find war captivating,
which translated directly into more views.
Rowe stated that since the sixties there has been a war on the media in which politicians,
primarily conservative, discredit the media if they cover the opposite view. Due to this, media
companies avoid being labeled liberally biased. Journalists and liberals that were concerned about the
possibility of war with Iraq and the credibility of sources the white house was using, were often unable
to be heard due to the medias fear of being labeled. In the film, Ted Kennedy, a prominent liberal
politician with a very famous last name, raised legitimate concerns about going to war. Of the thousands
of articles the Washington post published within that time, his speech was given one sentence. This
coverage was illustrative of the coverage received by the vast majority of the people who were anti-war.
The Bush administration was aware of this fear of being labeled liberal and took advantage of it. They
shaped what the media would cover in a planned propaganda campaign that revolved around
associating Iraq with 9/11.
Many Americans lived under the guise that propaganda was strictly relegated to fascist regimes
and oppressive governments, which made the Bush administrations job all the easier. It began with the
idea of renewed patriotism after 9/11. Social cognitive theory states that people look to others to shape
their own behavior. The time following 9/11 was one where emotions were running high throughout the
country. People were looking to others on how they should respond. The only way they could do this
was by first getting information about the event, and at the time, the primary way of doing this was
through consumption of mainstream media, where all of the actors and actresses were putting on their
show. Media personalities like Dan Rather appeared grossly patriotic by, for example, breaking down in
tears while talking about 9/11 on his show; while other more vociferous personalities like Bill OReilly,
strong-armed dissenters by deeming them un-American. I will call those who publicly criticize their
country in a time of military crisis, which this is, bad Americans. This helped shaped audience

cognitions by giving them extreme examples of which they could base their attitudes around. No-one
was aware of it was happening. Before 9/11 the patriotism police did not exist. The integrative
propaganda portion of selling the war was a resounding success.
White propaganda was used to legitimatize the White Houses actions. By using Ahmed Chalibi,
a visible source, they were able to create an icon that seemingly spoke for the oppressed people of
Iraq. The media ignored the fact that that the CIA paid him to be their spokesman, due to the culture of
not questioning the Bush administrations motives. This white propaganda gave the Bush administration
enough credibility to make outrageous untrue claims in attempt to persuade the public, which
constitutes black propaganda. The administration pressed the story that Saddamn harbored weapons of
mass destruction, yet they never actually had proof of these claims.
Over and over the administration would use the metaphor of how there would be a smoking
gun. This never came to pass, at least for the Iraqis. The Bush administration was the one holding the
smoking gun, in its wake hundreds of thousands were dead and an entire region destabilized.